Libertarian Perspective: Ohio needs to reassess motherhood from rape

The breaking news out of Cleveland involving three young women held captive for as long as a decade brought back to my mind the story of another young woman from the Midwest, Chicago-area attorney Shauna Prewitt. On Oct. 4, I had the opportunity to hear Prewitt speak at the University of Toledo College of Law. The topic was motherhood through rape and the lack of protections for the mothers and their children. This is a topic Prewitt has firsthand experience with. While still in college, she was raped and became pregnant. Though conflicted at first, she decided to keep her child. At first glance it may not appear that these stories have much in common, but what they share is motherhood through rape.

Kenneth Sharp

At least one of the young women in Cleveland, Amanda Berry, is a mother; undoubtedly her captor will be found to be the father. Prewitt was shocked to learn then, as many of you also will be shocked to learn now, that fathers in rape cases have rights. This has a lot to do with our perception of rape and women who give birth to a child conceived by rape. First, it is important to see the child as the mother’s and not the rapist’s. I have seen, in the comments sections on the Cleveland story, well-intentioned people giving Berry credit for raising her rapist’s child. It is her child — conceived in rape, but her child, not the rapist’s. Nothing rightfully belongs to one who acquired it by force.

A second important change must come from our collective thinking about the “degrees” we place reflexively on victims of rape. As Prewitt pointed out, when the woman aborts we instinctively give her report of rape high credibility. If she chooses to place the baby for adoption, we still give her report great credibility. But if she keeps her child, some feel that the mother may have some other motivation and may not have been raped at all.

The degrees are also separated by the “stranger rape” prototype and the “acquaintance/date rape” prototype. The stranger rape report is highly credible, while the acquaintance or date rape is seen by some as more suspect, especially if a woman decides to keep the child. The problem is that the vast majority of women who are raped are not raped by a stranger. While the woman is not given the respect she deserves in telling her story, the male aggressor is given undue influence in her life and that of her child.

I have two examples to show how the legal system in America can favor the rapist over the mother. In the first, a 14-year-old girl was raped and brought the baby to term. She then sought to give the child up for adoption. She was legally required to notify the father, an adult. The court granted her motion to give up her rights to the child. The rapist kept his rights and sued her for support.

In the other example, a woman gave birth to twins after a date rape. The rapist learned of their existence and sued to establish paternity and get visitation. The woman was, at the time, living with a domestic partner and the rapist attempted to use her sexual orientation against her.

Prewitt listed Ohio as one of the many states that does not have overt protection for mothers of rape. Parental termination is the only sure answer. The legislature has not seen the issue as important yet. Perhaps the case in Cleveland will bring it to the forefront.

The State of Ohio may find ways to fast-track termination of parental rights to the father from this case, but it still leaves the fact that Ohio has no real protections for women who conceive through rape and decide to keep the baby. It is a black mark on our state and our legislators that this issue has not already been addressed.

Prewitt pointed to two states that have at least a start on the issue if our legislators need guidance, Missouri, where her own rape occurred, and Maryland. As usual, it will require a groundswell of citizen support to spur action.

Torres: My rape, my reality and the Steubenville rape case

At 9 years old, I was abducted and raped by a man claiming to be a police officer who told me he needed my “help” finding an old lady’s dog. Just 500 yards away from my family’s apartment, this man forced me into the filthy basement of a nearby tenement and stole my virginity. By the grace of God, he chose to release me afterward but not without threatening my life if I ever told anyone what he’d done. In a dazed state, I went home and immediately took a bath at 5 o’clock in the afternoon — with the adults present in my home who didn’t seem to notice my odd behavior or that I seemed different. As time went on, none of the adults in my life seemed to notice I was in a traumatized state.

It was when I became a parent that I realized I felt as angry toward the grown-ups in my life who’d let me down by not protecting me as I felt for my attacker. It is unspoken human code that has us all believing it’s the adult’s responsibility to protect the child.

In the Steubenville, Ohio, rape case, not a single adult has been held lawfully accountable — not the parents who should have been supervising teen parties where alcohol was present, not the parents of the victim who were clearly not monitoring their daughter’s intake, not the parents of the high school football stars who seemingly held such a low disregard for women and not even the high school principal, the football coaches, the teachers or the other adults who felt it wasn’t their place to speak up.

While the lives of the 16-year-old victim and her two male underage attackers are irreparably shattered following the dramatic court case and verdict in Steubenville, what have we really taught our children? That while there are appropriate laws on the books about good touch and bad touch, apparently it’s OK as an underage minor to drink yourself into oblivion — despite the efforts of your friends who tried to stop you — and that whatever dangerous choices you made that night won’t be scrutinized to the same standard?

I agree with the strictest definition that “rape is rape and no means no.” But, I also believe a better court decision could have been handed down, including a requirement that the female involved attend an alcohol treatment facility. Otherwise, we’ve missed a crucial teachable moment that could save more lives.

Let this be a cautionary tale for communities and school systems everywhere that should proactively review the Steubenville scenario to help them stave off such future incidents. Let us learn from this tragedy by taking a long hard look at the mixed messages we’re giving our children, especially in affluent communities like the one I live in. As an outspoken parent — disinvited from my local school system’s community forum because I was too direct — I’ve witnessed the very destructive behavior of complacent adults who allow their children (and their children’s underage friends without checking first with the other parents) to abuse alcohol and other substances within their homes because, they say, “it’s safer.”

My community is no different from Steubenville and thus, if we continue to shirk our adult responsibilities of adequately monitoring our children it’s just a matter of time before a more heinous infraction occurs. Frankly, every city, town and neighborhood is just one incident away from disastrous consequences when these random acts of violence occur and forever sully the name of the place you call home. Within an instant, the actions of unsupervised children can wreak havoc with your property values, your safety and your peace of mind. We adults must be honest with ourselves and admit that we need to find a way to be better role models for our children.

When I was raped, I was not drunk and unconscious and so I remember every gritty detail, resulting in the grave disappointment in and irreparable detachment I subsequently felt from the adults in my life who didn’t protect me. I wonder how the Steubenville victim is processing her experience. Who does she blame? Is she angry at her parents who didn’t protect her? Is she angry at herself?

Ultimately, rape is rape — a violent and criminal act with which another person violates your body, your mind and your soul against your will and without your consent. Grossly under-reported, women often don’t report the crime because of the fear, shame and self-loathing that holds them hostage. For so many years, I spent my life on high alert, distracted because I was always checking over my shoulder to see if my rapist was in the vicinity.

It was some 35 years later, after intensive counseling, that I was finally able to summon the will to face my fears. It is an indescribable relief to now be able to share my story publicly, with the confidence that continual healing is my reward.

I am now also a member of the nation’s Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (R.A.I.N.N.) speakers’ bureau and encourage you to visit its website at www.rainn.org or call 1 800 656-HOPE (4673) for more information on how you can help.

While we can’t always prevent random acts of violence, as adults we must do a better job of protecting our children.